Lee - The Liver Repair Toolkit: Natural, non-drug supplements for liver detoxification & repair

Readers of my previous books on Curcumin , NAC( n-acetylcysteine ) and Milk Thistle wouldknow that I am a firm believer in the importance of liver function for overallhealth. This organ bears the brunt of the modern lifestyle more than any other,as it is the liver that must deal with the consequences of a poor diet and theexcess use of various drugs, medicines and alcohol.

Most people are at least vaguely aware of what is requiredto maintain a healthy heart and brain, as is evidenced by worldwide sales ofomega 3 supplements. However, apart from the general recommendation tominimise alcohol consumption, the average person would struggle to list any ofthe other reasons a liver can become dysfunctional or any of the differentsubstances which help to repair it.

Outside of medical circles, almost no-one knows about ahumble supplement called n-acetylcysteine which is given to emergencyroom patients who have overdosed on acetaminophen, to prevent their liver fromfailing. Hardly anyone knows about a vital substance called glutathione,which is crucial not only for a healthy liver, but for many other parts of thebody also.

If you ask the average person on the street what the liveractually does, you will generally get either a blank look or a vague statement likeit processes toxins or it cleans the blood, however the liver does so muchmore. For example:

Theliver can create glucose (a vital sugar for your brain in particular) fromglycogen, protein and fat.

Theliver can create vital amino acids.

Theliver creates the majority of all your cholesterol (yes, the amount ofcholesterol in your blood is only weakly related to how much you consume viayour diet).

Theliver creates triglyceride fats which your body can use for energy

Theliver produces certain substances which enable your blood to coagulate in theevent of injury

Inthe developing baby, before bone marrow is ready to assume the role, the liveris responsible for producing most of the babys red blood cells

Theliver synthesizes and processes bile, which your body needs for digesting fats.Bile also facilitates the absorption of vitamin K from the diet. For anyonedeficient in vitamin D or currently taking vitamin D supplements to correct adeficiency, vitamin K is incredibly important for ensuring that the body sendsdietary calcium to your bones and not to your arteries.

Theliver produces insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a hormone which ishugely important to the natural development of children and continues to havean important role into adulthood.

Theliver breaks down various hormones after they are no longer required

Theliver processes bilirubin, one of the substances responsible for, how should Iput this, that alluring shade of brown found in a particular substanceexcreted from the body.

Theliver is responsible for the majority of all drug metabolism. This can beeither the processing of toxic substances (such as acetaminophen) or theconversion of a drug taken orally into a metabolite which is active in thebody. For example, the popular painkiller codeine itself is virtually inactive;however in the liver, codeine is converted into morphine, a significantly morepowerful drug. This is how codeine and similar drugs which require metabolismwork.

Theliver converts toxic ammonia into urea via the urea cycle, to enable safeprocessing of this toxic substance

Theliver also acts as a storage house for a variety of vitamins and mineralsincluding - vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin B12, vitamin K, iron and copper.

Theliver, supporting the lymphatic system, is responsible for a healthy immunesystem via the production of various immunity-boosting substances

Theliver produces a hormone involved with regulating healthy blood pressure levels

Before we begin, lets explainsome of the potentially unfamiliar terms you will read in relation to liverhealth -

Hepatic Related to the liver. Thekidney equivalent is renal.

Cirrhosis Damage to the liverwhich is usually in the form of scar tissue that forms as a result of liverdiseases such as hepatitis.

Drug metabolism (notto be confused with metabolism in the context of energy burning in the body) The process of clearing drugs from the body. The liver is the main workhorseof this process, taking care of common drugs such as acetaminophen(paracetamol).

Bile A greenish yellowy brownsubstance produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder to help digestfats via a process of emulsification (similar to when you use soap to get oilof your hands).

Hepatocytes The main type of livercells, making up 80% of the entire liver.